Delusions
by OPgoddess6
Summary: Imagine the Thousand Sunny for two weeks without food. There's bound to be some happenings going on here... Well Nami and a certain crew member have their own issue too. And they're both going to have to pay the consequences. Congrats! Its ZoNa! Read on!
1. Day One

Hey people! So I am intent to actually finish this story unlike my others….*ahem* but let's not talk about that! So anyway you know the drill… I don't own One Piece, but I do own… no wait, I don't own that either…  
R&R people! R&R!  
___________________________________________________________________________________

Rating: T  
Pairings: Well you'll have to wait and see on that one…

"That was the last of the food, Luffy! You ate all the rest an hour ago!" Sanji screamed, hardly resisting the urge to punch Luffy right there.

"You idiot! What are we supposed to eat?" Nami shrieked, putting her head in her hands.

"Hehe. Well… there's the.. Oh wait I ate that too. Hehe." Luffy whispered, ruffling his hair nervously. He inched towards the galley's door, hoping no one would notice.

"The next island isn't for two weeks! And it's a winter island apparently. Even if there were any fish around, we couldn't survive on the few!" Nami said, surprisingly calm(er). Sanji turned towards the sink and started washing his hands, chuckling. "And I'm guessing there's no chance of us touching your tangerines is there?"

Nami shook her head. "They're not ripe yet anyway. And in the upcoming weather, they have to stay tied up or they'll get too cold."

Zoro, Robin, and Chopper stepped into the kitchen, having been alerted by the escaped Luffy of the current food situation. They each sat down at the table.

"This is bad." Chopper said.

"Yes." Said Robin.

"I need to eat." Said Zoro.

"We know." Nami said without looking up. "Imagine how Luffy will act. There's no food in sight and we have 8 people to feed at least twice a day."

"The only foods left are a bag of chips I have hidden and some chili powder that Luffy _didn't _devour. But that's only enough for a small meal." We can divide them and hope that we make it until the next island." Everyone looked up at the mention of un-eaten food and grinned.

"Hmph." Nami snorted. "Smells like an adventure!" She rolled her eyes, mocking Luffy. She got up and left the room without another word.

The rest of the afternoon went by pretty uneventful. Luffy was obviously hungry, but understanding the situation he didn't speak a word about it. In fact he was pretty quiet and withdrawn. He stood leaning on the side of the ship, with his hat over his face. No one dared to bother him when he was like this and it didn't change now.

Robin and Nami sat near the lion's head, lying on some reclining chairs. They were not the least bit happy about the situation, but they lay quietly, as if they were afraid to speak. Usopp, Chopper and Franky also lay in chairs but on the other side of the ship. Even Zoro wasn't training; he was sitting quietly in the crow's nest. His eyes focused on the sea in front of him. Everyone on the ship was trying to stay as inactive as possible to prevent themselves from getting hungry faster. And so far it was working.

Nami looked over at Luffy. He normally looked pretty calm in circumstances like this. But she guessed he knew how dire it was. He stood off from the rest of the crew and looked out at the ocean alone. While it was prtly his fault, she felt bad seeing him like this. And no one else in the crew seemed to want to cheer him up.

She sighed, pulling herself up from the chair, and strode over a few feet from Luffy. She stared out towards the sea, and looking out at the rapidly approaching sunset. A quick glance at her Log Pose and she regretted coming. Luffy didn't seem very responsive.

"Umm…Luffy?"

"Yeah?" He didn't look up.

"Are you okay?"

"Eh? Yeah I'm great!" He finally looked at her and grinned.

Nami smiled, but she could tell he was lying. "You know, it's not completely your fault. Some of us are to blame too."

He cocked his head. "But…I ate all the food. You have nothing to do with that."

"Yes, but we didn't stock up enough at the last island. We were all pretty busy with our own business. We should've taken more of an interest in the well being of our entire crew."

"So it wasn't completely my fault?"

"No Luffy."

He grinned wide and pulled up his hat, turning to Nami. Before she could blink, Luffy had his arms around her, enveloping her in a bear hug. "Thanks Nami."

Nami blinked, not expecting his hug. But as he pulled away she ruffled his hair, causing him to grin. "Don't mention it. Just save us some chips and chili powder, 'kay?" She said, walking away towards her room to work on her maps.

Luffy stared after her retreating figure, watching the way her hips swayed and her shiny orange hair bounced against her shoulders. He turned his body toward the ship's rail, his head still fixed on Nami until she closed the cabin door. He'd never paid much attention to pretty girls like Nami but she was definitely one to pay attention to.

The rest of the crew (Robin and Zoro: the only ones who _could_ see them) watched Luffy. Zoro climbed down from the crow's nest and leaned on the back of the chair Nami had been sitting in. Robin looked up.

"Tell me you didn't see what I just saw." He inquired. Robin chuckled.

"I think I did."

"I thought Luffy didn't understand the human body structure." He laughed. Luffy looked over. "Hey guys!" He waved, trotting over.

"And that's my cue to leave." Was Zoro's reply as he walked off deck and into the men's cabin.

"What's with him?" Luffy asked Robin. She just smiled and went back to her book. Luffy scratched his head and shrugged. He followed Zoro and fell asleep in his hammock.


	2. Day Five

Ya know it always motivates an author to write more when you get some encouragement from reading reviews. I personally love this method! HOWEVER it won't work unless I have some reviews to review… So like I always (okay sometimes) say, R&R people! R&R! :P

Rating: T

Nami woke up 5 days after the Luffy incident with a massive headache. No one had had dinner the day before. In fact no one had had _anything _to eat considering there were only 3 chips and a teaspoon of chili powder left. And none of the crew, not even Luffy, had the heart to eat it, knowing that once they had one they would devour the rest. There wouldn't even be any crumbs left.

Franky was practically shriveled in the summer heat. They had plenty of water, but a Franky without cola is not a Franky at all. Chopper had his medicines to play with, and he sat in his room trying to come up with a cure for the crew's hunger problems. Usopp sat next to him, designing new weapons. Robin sat in the shade on deck, reading a book looking more engrossed than usual. Zoro was sleeping in the corner of the galley and Sanji was simply laying on a deck chair. With nothing better to do, it was natural that he'd have more free time. Of course, that didn't mean he had to use it productively.

Nami stretched her arms above her head, sticking her chest out in a giant yawn. She felt her forehead. _No fever. I should be fine._ She slipped on a lilac colored tank top and pulled on a pair of cargo shorts. She reached her hand into her desk and pulled out the flower Sanji had picked for her from the last island. Normally she wouldn't bother keeping any of his "gifts", but it was really pretty actually. She guessed he could use a little recognition today. She stuck the bright golden flower behind her ear and turned to the mirror.

"Hmm." She said aloud. "Sanji has good taste."

She spun around and pushed open the doors of her room. Sanji and Robin looked up. When she saw the hearts forming in Sanji's eyes, she quickly looked down. She checked her Log Pose and moved forward, all the while trying to remind herself that this was for his sake. To make him happy. And obviously he was happy. Or more like giddy, she thought, rolling her eyes while half-grinning.

"Nami-swan! You have decided to wear the flower I've given you! It makes you look even more utterly divine than usual, my beautiful angel!" He swooned, dancing his wiggle-dance around her.

Nami walked over to the side of the ship, looking up at the clouds. Her headache was still banging against her head but she had a job to do. She checked the Log Pose and made sure they were on course. Without moving her head, she looked out of the corner of her eye and scanned for Sanji. He was now wiggle-dancing around Robin, while she obliviously ignored him and stayed glued to her book.

"Phew." She sighed a breath of relief. "I swear that guy would only make this headache worse."

"Who would?" Bounded in our favorite Strawhat captain, Luffy. The shrill of the pitch he yelled in brought Nami's headache to migraine level.

"Arrg!" She pounded his head. "Do you not see me holding my head in pain, you baka!?" She said calmly, trying not to worsen it.

"Oh. Heheh. Sorry Nami. What's wrong? You have a headache?"

"You should be. And yes I have a headache!" She shook her head. "You not making this situation easier you know?"

Luffy frowned.

"Sorry. You know what I mean, Luffy. Just please be a little quieter and find something to do. I'm sure Sanji can play with you. He seems bored." She pointed towards the door of the women's cabin, where Sanji was sitting outside of said place holding his head in his hands. Robin was inside.

"Yosh! OH SANJI!" He yelled in his shrill voice.

"LUFFY!"

"Sorry." He bounced away, stopping once to turn and look at her once her back was turned.

"One of these days…" She said quietly, shaking her head again and smiling.

Just then, Zoro stepped on deck and looked around. He had a towel slung over his arm and a weight in his left hand. The other was nearly feet away from Nami's foot. He casually walked over towards her and picked up the weight. He turned to her. "Oi. You okay?"

"Yeah." She waved her hand. "Yeah I'm fine." She kept her face in her hands. Zoro reached out and pulled her hair out of her face and felt her forehead. Nami could feel herself turning even redder than she already was. _Since when does he care?_

"You're hot." He stated. "Feels like a fever to me. Are you sure you're alright? It's bad enough we're half-starved in this situation, but if you get sick, you'll have no food to cure you. Medicine is only _part_ of the process right?"

Nami looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well I'll have to make do I guess." She felt a smile pulling at her lips. Zoro picked up his weights, which was his original reason for coming over, and began his training. Nami thrusted herself up to sit on the railings, watching the rest of the crew.

The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Like they had been doing, during the time when they would normally be having dinner they'd play poker. This time the prize was one of the three chips that were left. Though everyone shrugged it off and got ready to play, it was obvious everyone wanted that chip. Bad. Everyone played a lot more fiercely than usual. To everyone's surprise, Luffy won. Chopper, Usopp, Robin, and Franky sat and watched him devour the chip with teary eyes. Nami, Sanji, and Zoro got up before the horrible sight could reach their eyes.

"Crappy rubber-boy…" Sanji muttered, crouching down to the ground and quickly lighting up a cigarette in a corner. He knew what it was like to starve. He could tolerate starvation for weeks on end. But the others he guessed not. He really wanted someone else to win. Even if it was just a single chip.

"Honestly, it's amazing how you don't have lung cancer." Nami rolled her eyes as she walked to her room.

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind." Nami muttered almost under her breath and she closed the door. She was really dizzy and the headache from before came back. She knew soon it would turn into a migraine. She changed into a t-shirt and shorts and grabbed some medicine from Chopper's room before she jumped into bed, covering her head with the blanket.

Eh. Pretty uneventful yeah. I know. But believe me, there'll be plenty of action later! Hehe :)


	3. Day Eight

Did Nami mention how delusional the crew was acting lately? Just a moment ago Chopper had dived into the ocean looking for a sponge… so he had said after she saved him from drowning and gave him CPR. It was indescribably awkward how that panned out. Nami shuddered at the memory. Hopefully it would disappear soon.

Luffy sat all gloomy in the corner of the ship, since yesterday seemingly unaffected by all the chaos around him. Maybe at a time like this it would be nice to talk to him? After all, there was never really a time where he wasn't eating or acting like a moron with the _other_ morons. Nami sat down next to him.

Luffy looked up. "Nami?"

She smiled. Clearly he wasn't expecting anyone to "visit" him. "Yup." She said, pulling his hat up, so he didn't look so miserable.

"What- Why are you here?"

"What? I can't sit down with my captain? I thought you enjoyed our little chat the other day."

"I did!"

"I know. Besides, there isn't much else to do that won't remind us of- you know. And I don't have the energy to work on maps, suntanning would only fuel my appetite and- haha I guess I better stop talking about food huh?" She stuck her tongue out and leaned forward on her elbows, looking out at the sea. Luffy followed.

"I guess." He smiled faintly and looked over to the side.

Nami saw his face before he moved, "Hey Luffy. Look!" She pointed to a brightly colored fish with rainbow dorsal fins and a long, graceful looking tailfin. It seemed to follow them at the side of the ship, not leaving to join with the school swimming a few yards away.

Luffy eyes lit up. He'd obviously never seen this kind of fish before. "Woah! It's a Arcoifish! They're never around here!"

Nami swung her head around. She definitely didn't expect that little statement from Luffy. "…"

Luffy grabbed his hat, holding it at the back of his head. "Hehe. Sanji told me about them a couple of weeks ago."

"Well, it's pretty impressive, I must say." Luffy grinned. "What else do you know?"

"Hai! Cheese can be Swiss, American, bleu, parmesan…. And Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun…and"

"ABOUT THE FISH BAKA!" She slapped his head.

"Oh. Hehe." He laughed, looking like he had just won a game show instead of showing off a few facts.

"You know Luffy, you're a lot smarter than you lead people on to be aren't you?"

Luffy stared at her.

"And that's what I'm talking about. Right there!" She exclaimed, leaning forward.

"Right where?"

"The way you look at people. You just stare into their eyes like you can tell exactly what they want to say before they say it. You just know don't you?"

Luffy was silent.

Nami smiled, turning back towards the afternoon sun. "Nevermind. I know inside that brain of yours, _somewhere, _you know what I'm talking about."

A hour past by, and Zoro was sitting by a rail, not necessarily sleeping, but he had his eyes , and tired of looking after the paranoid crew, Nami slumped down beside him.

"Hello?" Zoro grunted, wondering why his navigator suddenly wanted to be near him without need.

"Hello yourself." She leaned back, staring at the falling sun again, as if it were running away in a game of tag but going too slow for her liking. She wished it would run faster and faster until the day they landed on an island arrived and everyone would be back to normal. She sighed, forgetting about Zoro who had fully awoken after the shock of her presence.

"The crew too much for you to handle?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"You got it."

"I'd love to help but-"

"You're too busy napping?"

"Hey! I need the rest!"

"Not for more than half the day!"

"With Luffy bounding around like an idiot, the dartboard brow shooting his putrid foot out whenever I'm around, and you parading around in your half-naked glory, why should I keep my eyes open?!"

"I happen to like all my clothes."

"Well maybe you change your style…"

"And what? Become a nun?"

"No! Then we'd have no navigator!"

"Oh? Why? Would you miss me?" Nami smirked, staring straight into Zoro's eyes, which were now surrounded by a slightly reddened face.

"Wha-? Me? I-"

"Ha. Gotcha."

"Well." He replied boldly, "Maybe I would."

"Oh?" Her smirk turned into a surprised smile.

She moved closer, spreading the soft scent of the flower in her hair to Zoro's nose. Her face only inches from his; she pressed her lips onto his. He returned the kiss, a little more forcefully than she. He trailed his arm across the narrow space of their separation and took her hand. Nami wrapped the other around his neck, puller him as close and they could get to each other.

"Woah! I didn't think there was such a connection going on between you two!" Luffy bounded in.

Nami and Zoro pulled away, their faces as red as apples.

"In fact, I thought you two hated each other!"

The two just looked at Luffy, whose face showed no hint of a reasonable reaction to what had just happened. But of course- it was Luffy.


	4. Day Eight Part 2

Not much time had gone by since Luffy caught me getting my first kiss. Yeah I know. First kiss. I had never been really interested in women like most other males were. Some people get the wrong idea, but I'm pretty preoccupied most of the time. Everyone leaves me to fight all of the idiot bastards that are constantly attacking us. And I've never been one to stand girls swarming around me.

But I guess Nami's different. She's always bothering me about money and my so called debt to her, but I guess everyone has flaws. Even if they are huge. And aggravating.

But like I said, Nami was different. People like Luffy, Sanji, and Tashigi are people that I find hard to handle. Swirly brow pisses me off to no end dammit! But at least Nami has a nice side. And I want to get to know it better.

Her orange hair is pretty unique. I don't understand how people ignore that color to ogle mine. But maybe they see what I see. It's really beautiful, especially on her. The way it bounces and shines when she walks, and the way it seems to flush just as she does when she's mad, it really nice when you think about it. She has these awesome chocolate brown eyes that make you want to watch them even when she can see you. She may have run off once before, but it was understandable after we got the situation in grasp. It was for her village, and for her family. She's an extremely loyal person.

I could go on about her good traits, but what I've recently found out about her is that she's a great kisser! Not that I would really know, since I hadn't kissed anyone else before. But wow.

Luffy still stood there when I pulled away from Nami, but she seemed more embarrassed than I did. The surprised and confused look on his face was getting to me.

"What are you looking at Luffy?" Nami asked, most likely mimicking my very thoughts.

"I don't know. What _are _you doing exactly?"

Sweatdrop…

"You don't know what a kiss is?" Nami asked.

"Well duh! Of course I do! What do you think I am? Four? I am an eighteen year old guy ya know."

"Hard to believe…" I sighed.

"If that's true, then why are you so surprised?"She asked, giving a death glare to a rampant moron Sanji who was bounding around annoying the hell out of all the others- who just happened to be sprawled across random spots on the deck. Robin was the only one absent and who really knew what she was doing. Sanji stopped, sat down, and starting rocking around in a fetal position. Nami didn't have the energy to knock him sense-full?

"Because… it's _you two._ The two I least expected could do anything more to each other than hate. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened. Is the sky falling again?" Luffy turned to walk away.

"Eh…"

Nami sat there, as if she was actually taking Luffy's words into consideration. Was the sky falling again? My eyes darted to the sky, which shone brightly and glared down at us. It was still intact.

"Are you actually looking at the sky?" Nami said, grinning. She was obviously holding in a laugh.

"No! But hey he's right."

"Huh?"

"How did this happen?"

Nami stood up. "Like this." She said, pulling me up. Before I could figure out what she was talking about, our lips were locked together.

"Oh." I said lamely, not knowing what else to say. I really need to get used to this.

"Oh? Well then…" Nami was still grinning.

Like I said before, she's a great kisser. And Luffy may have had a point, but everyone has their own reasons right?

Before I could comprehend the situation, Nami had pulled off her top and had one leg over the ship's railing. "Let's go swimming!" She yelled, diving into the water, her shorts falling on the floor as well.

"_What the hell"_ I thought, pulling off my shirt and diving in after her. I guess not even Nami was immune to the delusions that everyone else on the ship seemed to have contracted. She was floating in the water, pushing herself up against the side of the ship.

"Zoro… over here!" She purred, obviously not sane. The little spinning thingy was right next to her. Not a clue what was going through her mind right now, I swam over like she was a drowning hammer.

"Isn't the water lovely today?"

I blinked. Had she forgotten what had just happened? By the time she had something to eat, would she have no idea at all what had gone on between them?

"Nami? Nami are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I just wanted to play a little…the water's great!" I hoisted her up to the rope and climbing up, I just happened to get a pretty nice view of the bottom half of her. I hoped that I wasn't getting this weird disease like everyone else.

When we reached the top of the rope, Nami sat down rubbing her head.

"Are you sure you're okay? You have fever don't you?"

"Uh yeah." She looked around. "I'm getting a little dizzy."

Oh no. I picked her up and carried her to her room. Laying her on her bed, I thought of calling for Chopper, but with _his_ current condition he probably would give her some wrong medicine and kill her. What was I supposed to do? I sat down next to her and noticed that she was now almost naked; the only things covering her were her underwear. Blushing, I got up and closed the door, slamming it shut. I hoped that no one noticed or would come in to bother her.

"Zoro? Come back over here. I feel a lot better when you're around." Her face was a pale red, but she seemed like she really was herself again. Maybe. I'm no doctor…

I sat on the end of the bed and leaned closer, kissing her on her forehead, yet wondering why at the same time. She chuckled and pulled me down on top of her.

"Won't I make you hot? You'll get a high temperature and-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm already hot enough from you right now."

This made me even more out of control than I was trying to hold in before. I kissed her furiously, completely covering her under my body. Hers was hot and bare, but not bare enough. I pulled off her bra and kissed down her chest, pecking and sucking on each breast. Her whimpers and moans were all I needed to know that she was responsive at the moment. How long it would last I didn't know.

I was pulled closer by her soft hands, and she ran them down my back and hair. She ran her fingers across my waistline, tugging softly at my pants. Remembering that I was still wearing them, I pulled them off too and resumed my exploration of Nami's body.

"Hunh…Zoro, enough foreplay. I want you now!" She tugged off her panties and slowly ran her fingers around my area. The trace of her touch felt so good, but we both knew what we wanted. I pushed her back down onto the bed and entered her body. Man she was deep! Her body pulsated with every movement. It didn't take that to get me started though, and I thrusted into her.

"Ahhh..yes Zoro!" She moaned.

The thrusts became faster and faster and our minds were racing with excitement and pleasure. Nami lifted her legs onto my back and threw her head back in ecstasy. There was a lot of grunting and moaning and soon all the pressure had reached its peak.

Coming together, I had no choice but to fall limp onto Nami's bare chest. Shifting over to accommodate the extra weight, she pulled her bed covers over the two of us. I kissed the top of her forehead.

"Feeling fine now?"

"Better than fine." Nami wrapped her hands around my abdomen, tracing the scar with interest. She was looking into my eyes, but what I saw was a gaze unlike the usual Nami. It was to be expected that she wouldn't be herself after over a week without food, but something wasn't quite right. You could almost see a sliver of doubt in her eyes, despite the smirk on her face. How it was possible I don't know.

"You know I really, really like you Zoro." Nami said, petting my abnormally green hair. She almost laughed, but her attention was again pulled to the matter at hand.

"Well you should, because I lo…" Wait- what? Was I going to say I love you? That problem's never come up before… how to deal with this? I mean don't get me wrong- I guess I really do love that woman when it comes down to it. But I'm not the type to say gooey stuff like that.

"What?" Nami suddenly frowned.

"No, no… I-" The rest was nothing but a mumble.

"Do you not-"

"I LOVE YOU! Okay, there its out." I couldn't help turning red.

Nami smiled, leaning her head closer to the point of our noses touching. "I love you Zoro." And we both drifted off to sleep, holding each other in our arms.

Well there you go! Took me a month? to write it. Well I wrote a couple of drabbles here and there until I decided it was finished. I have a feeling this series is going to get pretty long, and I have school people. ;_;

Unfortunately.

But for the next two weeks I have spring break! Yay! So I will do my best to make time for writing this story. Seems everyone is enjoying it, and thanks for the reviews! Despite the long intervals between each post, I'll try to get chapter 5 out by next week, since my English teacher decided to throw a project (A BINDER full of crap on a selected author) due next month. If I don't start this now my procrastination will win over my small mind. So enough rambling and stay tuned for chapter 5! Yay!

Oh and to Polly P: They are sailing toward a winter island and there are very few fish around, so yeah they can't really find many. I never saw them catch anything at Drum, so yeah it makes sense to me. :P


	5. Day Nine

_What the hell is that noise?_ Nami thought to herself as she sat up in bed. A noise rivaling Luffy's voice resounded from somewhere around her. She looked around, realizing it was inside her head. Sighing, she got up from her bed, holding her hungry stomach as she did. She turned and picked up her flower hair pin and began to walk toward her dresser to put it away.

But it didn't take a second for her to do a double take. Who was that in her bed? She squinted her eyes, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. Not that she wanted anyone from the crew in her bed. Except maybe Robin. She was more of a sisterly friend, but wha-

Her mouth fell open as she realized the culprit. Roronoa Zoro was laying there- sleeping away-in her bed!

"What the hell are you doing? Get out of my bed!" She screamed, then drawing back, hoping no one else heard. The last thing she wanted was to have a crew member come in and find them in this situation. She'd never hear the end of it, and Sanji would be a blubbering puddle of hopelessness.

Zoro was awakened by his loud navigator and sat up straight away, glancing around the room. "Eh?"

Nami's hands were on her hips. Seeing as Zoro wasn't budging, and she didn't have the energy to slap him across the back of his head, she sighed. Growling under her breath, she muttered "What are you doing here?"

"You don't-" He stopped. _She really doesn't remember what happened last night. That means…ugh…she doesn't remember what we told each other either. Like hell I'd go through that again._ Then it dawned on him: they were still naked! "Um..Nami?"

"Yes!?" She was still waiting for an answer.

"You might wanna…" He pointed towards her naked body while getting up and pulling on his clothes, which were conveniently located right on the floor at the end of her bed.

"Gah!" She scrambled to cover up with a robe hanging close by. Why were they naked? She realized then that something had gone on last night while they were temporarily insane. Whatever insanity was left had dived into the sea once she realized their predicament.

"What the hell did we do?" She said, he face turning redder than a tomato. She wasn't attracted to anyone on the ship but him, but there was no way she'd give it up that easily. Now she felt like she had crossed some illegal border and wanted some distance- but before that, an explanation.

"Look at us woman. What do you think we did?" He said, pulling his shirt over his head.

She had to admit. He was really hot, but no. She had standards. These two weeks without food was turning out to be more of a hassle than could ever had expected. Her body rocked with hunger pangs even more so than yesterday, and she was sure Zoro's did too. Her head ached like she had a hangover and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. In her own bed. Alone.

She sat down on her mattress. "God! What…. how… what am I supposed to do?" She uttered to herself silently.

"You _didn't_ want what happened last night?"

"NO!"

"So you _don't_ lo-…..love me?" God, he sounded pathetic. He preferred not to use the other L word, and was sure Nami would freak out even more than she was now. But the Strawhat Crew was not one to keep their feelings to themselves and he had to say something. He was most definitely not the master of love, but… maybe he was wrong. Nami may have been 'intoxicated' but you don't just spit out stuff like that even then right? He'd never been drunk before, so he had no firsthand experience, but Nami was another story.

"What?" Nami's mouth widened in shock. "Zoro…. I…I really, really like you but…" That's right. That's what she had said. Maybe she didn't love him. Maybe last night would never mean anything to her like he thought it would've. Training his mind, his will… none of it prepared him for the wayward emotion that was taking hold of him now. The feeling was one he had never felt before. A mix of furiosity, jealousy, and a hint of imminent doom. The swordsman walked out of the room, a dark gloom hanging over him.

Nami could only watch, guessing that there was nothing between them now. A stray tear fell from her face. Why did she let him go? Sure they were both into each other, but there was nothing worse than a one-sided love. And no matter the event that had taken place last night, she simply didn't feel that same way. She didn't want to wait and see if it would come along sooner or later. It wasn't fair to either of them. She stuck her golden flower into her bright orange hair and leaned back into her soft pillow…

Zoro, having almost stomped his way to the deck, grabbed his weights and lifted them.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. He was going much faster than he usually did. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Faster and faster he went, pumping faster and harder than he ever did. The cause of this sudden superstrength boost made him pause momentarily, almost dropping the weights onto the wooden planks of the deck. Not wanting to attract Franky or Usopp, he quickly grabbed the handles before they hit the ground. Phew.

The cause? Nami. The devious wench had had her fun. Because of last night, what he thought was a good thing had only pushed her away. And knowing her, once you've struck out, you get no second chances.

Sweat poured off his brows as he exerted himself to the max. Pumping at lightning speed, he soon attracted the attention of Luffy and the others. One hundred and eight. One hundred and nine. One hundred and ten! He was setting a record! Eyes closed, he concentrated on the weights, pushing them off of him like hot wax. He pictured Nami and her speech a few seconds ago and nearly pulled a muscle. He winced. He needed to train harder. Much harder.

"Swordsman san? Are you alright? You don't seem like your normal self." Robin questioned, keeping a safe distance from the crazy man in front of her.

"Yeah Zoro. I've never seen you training this hard before!" Usopp yelled.

"SUGOI!!" Chopper and Luffy marveled.

He paid no attention to the crowd he had drawn around him. "GO! Leave me alone! I need to train alone!"

As they left, Robin was the only one to turn her head. She looked towards Zoro, then towards Nami's open door and smirked. She was always in the know.

___

The next evening, as the crew sat around the deck table playing poker, Zoro and Nami sat across from each other. They were strangely silent, and kept their heads down hoping the other wouldn't look at them.

_Shameful?_ Robin thought. She grinned.

"Robin? Do you have a good hand?" Usopp asked, his nose slightly drooping from the lack of nutrients. Lord knew how that worked but hey, it's Usopp.

"Maybe." She looked at her hand, containing one of the worst possible hands she'd ever had. She looked at Usopp and simply smiled. He went back to his cards, focusing on the game for only a few minutes before returning to his paranoid self. He knocked over the table and started running around the deck all the while pointing to an imaginary 'sea monster' that was spreading slime and hatred amongst the ship. Chopper, Luffy, and Franky soon joined in and the trouble-free game of poker was over.

Sanji pulled out and lit a cigarette, shaking his head. For now at least he was perfectly normal. He started a game of 52 pickup with himself before turning to the moss-head behind him.

"Is there a reason why you're acting like some kind of superhero today?"

"Superhero?"

"Yeah." He turned around, looking him in the eye. "You're never like that. What's with the sudden change?"

"It's no different. I've merely gotten stronger." He said, meanwhile Nami was a couple of feet away, head turned toward the ocean but mind tuned in to the conversation. She was pretty sure she knew what was going on. It was none of Sanji's business though and since Luffy obviously told him nothing of their 'adventures' yesterday, Nami took it upon herself to safeguard the discussion to make sure nothing got out. Zoro could handle it well enough, she hoped.

"You can't be serious! That's a major difference! You'd think that in the middle of a hunger crisis, you'd be getting weaker. What's with you?"

"You wouldn't understand, love-cook…"

"What? Get off your high horse and start acting normally marimo!"

"Do you really want a fight on an empty stomach? Cuz I'll give you one!"

"ENOUGH! Shut up! Is it too much to ask of you two to be on neutral ground for just one more week? We can't afford you getting hurt or anything right now and you need to be patient! Sanji look, Zoro can train however he wants! So he's getting stronger, why is that such a big deal? We're all getting stronger in our own ways."Nami quite loudly interjected. "Just quit it!" She walked off, letting out of a breath of hot anger and checking her Log Pose to make sure they were actually getting closer to their food stop.

"Nami-swan?" Sanji whispered, close to tears. Zoro rolled his eyes in annoyance, but also feeling the pains of a bad migraine and knowing he was about to lose his senses again. He got up and started up the ladder to the Crow's Nest. Sifting his thoughts, he pondered on why he had stopped thinking of Nami as an evil bitch. He had gone from hating her to loving her. Even after she'd caused him unbearable pain he couldn't figure out the cure to, his feelings didn't change. He hated himself for it.

TO BE CONTINUED!

R&R my faithful readers… that is if I have any yet… but anyway I promise the next chapter will be up soon!


	6. Land Ho!

Land-ho! In this chapter the crew finally reaches land. All the suspense has built up huh? Well there's a LOT more to come later so hold on to your computers and read on!

"ISLAND! I SEE THE ISLAND!" Nami screamed, jumping for joy as if her life depended on it. And technically it did.

Everyone zoomed over next to Nami, leaning over the edge, just about to the point of falling over. Man overboard? It was to be expected though, since the crew had been waiting 2 weeks without food and they were all delirious of hunger. Luffy was trying to resist stretching his head to the shore to scan the island for food like he wouldn't have a chance soon. He could see the others visibly drooling out of the sides of their mouths.

_Haha. At least I'm not a drooling, shameless baby. _He thought proudly. _Though I am starving. _Luffy continued, only to look down and see a puddle of saliva pooling around a waterfall falling from his mouth. _Damn._ "Food…" He said, the stars in his eyes shining brighter than the stars in the night sky.

They anchored about eight yards away from the shore. Everyone, including the hammers, dived into the ocean. The non-hammers swam to shore, carrying others who almost drowned.

Nami splashed onto the shore, wiggling her toes in the warm sand. She could feel each and every grain. Chopper, who was being dragged by the ears by Zoro, was tossed in front of her and he bounced up. He ran into a tree, hoping it would knock down a coconut or something of edible quality. His horn point succeeded and he cracked open a coconut, and he shared half of it with Usopp. Sanji was carrying Robin as he climbed onto the beach, but of course Robin dropped herself down and started towards the leafy forest.

The empty beach had mainly nothing to help the hungry crew, so they all followed Robin into the forest.

Zoro hadn't forgotten about anything that happened over the trip there. He glanced toward Nami, who had her head up, was digging her heel into the dirt to push herself up the steep hill. Her hair was just as shiny and lush as before, even in the dark shadows of the numerous plants surrounding them. She didn't appear to be feeling a thing. What was with her? Or maybe, what was wrong with him? Why did it seem to be that only _he_ felt anything? His feelings seemed to be wound up like a strand of DNA. He couldn't decide whether he was furious, miserable, or both. Plus, he still hadn't figured out what the emotion was exactly.

He smashed his foot into the ground, but noticed that thinking about it only made it worse, and he would start showing it in physical violence. The thud made a small tremble that traveled over the ground in a rippled effect. Nami looked over out of the corner of her eye.

"Zoro?" She asked, slowing her pace a little so she and Zoro were at the back of the group and were the only ones who could hear. Meanwhile Robin was using her Devil Fruit powers to knock fruit out of trees for random crewmembers to pick up.

"What?" He gritted through his clenched teeth.

"Are you still mad?" She asked, instinctively bringing her hands to her cheek in worry.

"No, I'm not." He angrily replied.

"Obviously you are. What do you think I am, stupid? It's all over your face!"

"I'm fine. Go ahead and catch up with the others."

She lowered her eyebrows. "Fine. If you say so." And she quickened her pace, quickly reaching the banana-catching crew.

By the evening of that day, the Strawhats had reached a cave. Surrounding it was a large cliff, and they were unable to see anything above it. The forest was too thick to be roaming around during the night, so they decided to camp out inside. The crew stopped and began to set their camping supplies before Luffy completely crushed that idea.

"La~La~La~ into the cave we go!" Luffy sang, bounding inside like a giant pot of fried chicken was waiting at the end.

"Luffy!" Usopp screamed.

"You idiot! Wait for us!" Franky yelled.

"Don't run ahead Luffy!" Robin yelled after Luffy's retreating shadow. Before another word could be spoken, he was gone.

"Luffy? Luffy!" Chopper called. He ran in after his captain.

"What the hell is that rubber moron doing? He's gonna get somebody into deep trouble. I can just feel it." Sanji shook his head, crushing a still-lit cigarette under his shoe. He and the rest of the crew started their journey inside the cave, looking around at all the stalagmites and oddly shaped rocks.

"Woah." Nami stopped. The crew followed. She placed her finger on the rock wall, tracing it along what seemed to be some kind of cryptic cave painting. "What did this?"

Zoro looked. It looked like a moon shining at the top of a pyramid. On the bottom right there was what looked like a robed woman with a fox-like tail holding something in her arms. On the bottom left there was a star. It looked to be carved with a white stone, which he had noticed there were none of in the cave as of yet. It wasn't likely whatever made it found the stone outside either, and if there were any on the cliff they would've had to climb it first. Not likely.

"That's one weird cave painting." He moved on, prompting the others to take one last peek and then follow. They walked on for what seemed like hours and, having finally caught up to and beating down Luffy, they were headed towards the center of the cave to camp out.

"Shit! It's a dead end!" Sanji yelled, slowly kneeling to the ground. He had walked all this way inward for nothing.

"A dead end? You mean we're stuck?" Luffy asked, leaning against the rock.

"Yes you moron!" Nami screamed. "And it's all your fault!" This time she couldn't hold it in, and she shoved Luffy into wall, letting loose a few rocks. "Owch! Hey Nami that-" He was cut off by a sudden rumbling in the cave.

"No! Our long journey is going to end here! We've traveled all this way for nothing!" Usopp cried, grabbing onto the nearest object- Chopper. They went hysterical together and wheezing onto each other. The others just looking around, darting their eyes from rock to rock, ready to dodge or run if the rocks started falling in on them.

Nami's eyes were drawn to a shiny stone that seemed to have fallen from the ceiling of the cave. She ran to pick it up, but a rock slipped out of place above her and she stuffed it into her pocket and jumped out of the way before the boulder fell. "Shit!"

She looked up from her dusty spot on the ground. She was about to complain about how no one bothered to help her after her near-death experience but stopped- her mouth fell open as the shaking and rock slides subsided.

The "dead end" she's pushed Luffy into had given way and toppled over. But that wasn't the amazing part. There was a whole mini-cave that could fit the Thousand Sunny inside! There were still plenty of dust and stalagmites, but there was also a small pond the size of a steering wheel in the center.

"Holy moly! Look at this place!" Chopper marveled. The crew walked inside, still taking in the new surroundings. Luffy was the first to step up to the pond, slowly bringing his head above it as if there was something about to shoot up at him.

There was some green which he guessed where some kind of mystery water mosses. He was about to pull back his head when he saw something move. Slithering out from under the green was a silver river snake. "Woah!"

Naturally no one paid attention to him as they set the camp once and for all. Normally someone would end up coming over, but anything he could find in an old cave was probably not worth the effort and moving another muscle. However, Robin was an archaeologist. She jumped at the idea of finding out something interesting in a mysterious ancient cave. She sat down at the brim of the pond and looked.

Seeing the snake slither before her eyes, she shot back. _What is a South Navy river snake doing in the middle of a cave? This is a pond. How did it get here?_ She thought, but Luffy, who had gotten bored of sitting around, made himself useful and helped Sanji with the fire pit setup.

xxx

It was around midnight she guessed, as Nami awoke from her sleeping bag. She could've sworn there was a spider trying to make her ear its home. Shaking her head, she stumbled out of the tent and found her way to the pond using a lantern. But she didn't expect Zoro to already be sitting there.

"Zoro! What-" She stopped and began to whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same." He responded, not turning his head.

xxx

Muahaha. Cliffhanger! Yeah, I said it would be getting interesting soon and I would never lie to you all. So review please and you can resume reading of *hint hint* Nami and Zoro's adventures when I upload the next chapter, which should be soon. Ah how I hate the education system…


	7. In the Pond

"I could ask you the same." Zoro responded to Nami's question without turning his head.

"I woke up and needed some space. So I got out of the tent. Why?"

"That's my story too."

"Okay."She stood there silent for at least a minute.

"Why don't you just sit?"

Nami sat down across from Zoro. She looked up at him, but his face was turned slightly away and was covered in shadow. She brought up the lantern right above the pond so she could see his face. It looked kind of wet.

"Have you been playing in this water?" She asked, shocked. "You don't know what kind of germs have been crawling around in there!"

"I wasn't playing in the pond!" He nearly shouted, then he wished he had never said anything. Nami brought down the lantern. If he wasn't playing in the water, then the water on his face could only be…

"Zoro…" She started. "Were you…crying?" Her brows furrowed and she dropped the lantern onto the ground. She'd never seen Zoro cry. She'd only heard from Usopp that he cried when he was nearly killed by Mihawk, but she could never really trust that he wasn't making it up, knowing him. Nami never asked anyone else, and until now she didn't really think it was true.

Zoro didn't answer.

"Zoro…"

"Look woman! Why don't you mind your own business and go back to sleep or something!" He shouted, not looking up. His face was a dark mass of shadow again and he couldn't bear to look at her, let alone talk to her.

Nami opened her mouth slightly. She could plainly see that he was emotionally unstable. The worst part was if anything was to make the swordsman cry, there was only one thing. Her. "Zoro…I'm sorry about what happened. Really… I just, I don't know if it's possible. _Sigh. _I don't know anything anymore. Love is… just so complicated and-"

"And what? You think you can just play with someone's feelings? Crush them into a puddle of nothing and then just leave? Do you know the way you act? You're such a whoring bitch!" He screamed.

Nami's mouth was open wide by now. What the hell? What had he just said? What did he just call her?

Zoro was sure the crew was woken up by now, and under normal circumstances he wouldn't have yelled so loud, but now he didn't care.

"Are you insane, you bastard?" Nami slapped him across the face. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd offered a sincere apology and an explanation but obviously Zoro wasn't interested.

The "shiny and luscious" orange hair that he'd loved so much was now flustering with anger. He didn't know what to say or do anymore, and he just sat there. Head in his lap, he beared all the slaps and punches Nami had to offer. A single tear fell from his eye before he gave up.

He hadn't trained for years for nothing. He spun around, grabbing Nami's arms and flipping her onto the ground. He climbed over her and looked into her face, still strangling her wrists. Nothing registered.

"What are you doing?" Nami asked quietly. She was afraid to admit that she was now _scared._ Zoro didn't look annoyed, he looked vicious. And really, truly, pissed.

"You are the cruelest, most heartless witch I've ever met."

"What the hell is with you?"

Zoro tightened his grip. He lowered his head, bring his closer to hers. "You don't have a clue what you've done, do you?"

"..."

"How many times must I remind you of what you did?"

"I-"

"I can't explain it. I don't even know what I'm feeling! It's all your fault! You make my mind wander when I'm trying to concentrate, you keep me awake in the middle of night, and you make me…"

"I… make you what?" Nami was on the verge of tears.

"Don't tell me you don't see what's on my face right now."He couldn't bring himself to say…

"You were crying. Oh god." Nami looked away, her eyes glazing over. She must've had a serious impact to make the bloodthirsty demon swordsman _cry._

"That's right. I loved- I… love you Nami. And you…"

"Zoro I didn't mean to break your heart like that. I just wanted…and then I couldn't-" Nami started to sob. Zoro couldn't hold his in either. He let go of Nami's arms but still straddled over her.

Nami reached her hand up to his face and wiped away the single tear. Surprisingly to her, he didn't stop her. "Zoro…"

She pulled him down on top of her, not flinching from the added weight. They laid there next to each other for a while, neither saying a word.

Then, "Do you really care about me that much?" asked Nami.

"Of course I do woman." Zoro's eyes were still slightly red.

Nami leaned up and brought his head up to hers and kissed him on his forehead. "Then I think maybe we can work something out." She smiled nervously. She could see the joy and relief on his face.

Clink.

They looked down to see the stone Nami had picked up earlier. It had rolled out of her pocket when she sat up. Zoro picked it up, staring at it like it was a mini alien. "Where did you get this?"

"Eh? I found it before we were nearly killed by the rockslide…"

"Why would a white star-shaped rock be in the middle of this old place?"

"I don't know. Give it back before you lose it."

"Hey! I might lose my way getting somewhere but I won't lose your precious belongings."

"Yeah I know, but lemme have it back." She reached for the stone, but Zoro turned his body. She fell forward, knocking the rock into the pond. She pulled her hands out of the water shaking the moisture off. Zoro just smiled.

"Hmph. Thanks a lot." Nami laughed, but then stopped suddenly. "Wait! Do you feel that?" Her eyes widened. A little tremble was shaking the ground, and it seemed to be coming from the pond. They looked over.

"Oh my God! What is that?"

The South Navy river snake was wrapped around the stone, its silver snaky body wriggling to keep its hold. It was also glowing. There was a creepy glowing river snake in a shaking ancient pool in an ancient cave. Something was definitely amiss.

"Are you sure you found it laying around the fallen rocks?" Zoro asked, quickly recovering from the strange sight. After all, when you're first-mate on a pirate ship full of various crooks and weirdoes, you get used to it.

"Yes!" Nami looked back into the pool. The strange serpent was twice its original size!

"Holy shit! The thing's growing!" She scrambled to her feet, Zoro following. The silver creature was now the size of the pool. Although it wasn't a snake anymore. It was growing legs and arms and a head. It was beginning to look slightly human. The two Strawhats just stared.

By now, the ruckus outside had served as an alarm for the rest of the crew. All the their nakama rushed out of the tent, running toward the two but stopping once they saw what they were staring at.

Usopp's eyes bugged out of his head. "ACKKK!!! Who is that!?"

"SUGOI!" Luffy yelled.

Robin just inspected the stranger from afar, budding an eye on the mossy rocks surrounding the pool. _He looks like a normal human- but hey!_ She furrowed her brows, frowning. "What's that on his forehead? A marking?"

Zoro looked him up and down. He was wearing a light blue shirt and a pitch black cape jacket kind of thing. His skin was a pale blue tint and his hair was longer than Robin's. _What an idiot._

"Who the hell are you and why are you in here?" Nami shouted. Boy was she pissed. After everything the two had through, they had finally gotten a chance for redemption and this weirdo had to pop up and…ugh!!!

The serpent-man spoke up. He stepped out of the pond, where he had transformed, and walked straight up to the blunt woman. "I'm Sozaru. I guard this place, and you've stepped on sacred ground."

_He sounds like Enel's guards…_ Nami thought, leaning back from the creep in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak but Sozaru stopped her. His eyes widened.

"Is that the Luminary Pendant you have in your hand?"

"Luminary Pendant? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Give that to me! That's part of a prophecy that couldn't possibly know a thing about!"

"No! Its mine, and its kind of…" She turned her head to Zoro. "important to me. Why should I hand it over?"

"Nami…" Chopper warned.

"He looks slightly dangerous…" Franky said. He put his right hand on his left arm, ready to shoot if this guy hurt his nakama.

"Look…I'm not going to ask twice. That belongs here, and you don't. Hand it over."

Nami was already pissed. She wasn't going to take orders from some pretentious stranger living in a dirty pond.

"You asked for it." Sozaru said quietly, raising his arm above his head. Before anyone could realize what he was doing, Chopper and Franky fell to their knees (or in Chopper's case he just fell to the ground).

"Franky! Chopper! What the hell!?" Luffy shouted, and the others ran to the side of their nakama.

"They've been poisoned!" Robin yelled at the sight of the mark on their necks. It was just like the intricate, vine-like one on Sozaru's forehead, only purple.

Nami stepped back, shocked by the reaction of her actions. Zoro was beside her in an instant, protecting her from whatever attacks Sozaru might give at any moment.

"Zoro! This is my fault!" Nami started to cry. Why did she have to be so possessive? And of a pretty shaped rock no less?

"Obviously there's something with that rock if you want it so much. It's not that all your fault." But before Zoro could say anything more, Sozaru was behind his crew. The now glowing purple mark appeared on everyone, and they were all on the ground.

"Luffy! Sanji! Robin!" Nami shouted. "Everyone…" She cried.

"Now about that pendant… Would you rather hand it over, or see your precious nakama perish right in front of your eyes?"

Nami was about to reach out her arm to give Sozaru the pendant but Zoro stopped her.

"If you want the pendant, you'll have to get it from me." He warned, pulling his bandana down over his eyes. Nami widened her own. "Zoro! You can't!" But it was too late.

Sozaru jumped at Zoro. He shot his arm out in Zoro's direction when he was magically within 5 feet of him. The purple mark slithered its way onto his arm as Zoro attempted to dodge it. The poison squirted out of the freshly infused mark. It glowed menacingly.

"ZORO!!" Nami slowly bent to the ground. "Not you too! Why? I was going to give it up! It isn't worth my nakama!"

"Now you maid! Since your hope is gone, I guess you have no choice but to hand it over. Unless you want to be poisoned too?"

Everything went red in Nami's eyes. "NO!!!!" She took the pendant and smashed it against the rocks, breaking it into halves. It wasn't that she really meant to, but her fit of rage took over her body.

"YOU! YOU….destroyed it!?" Sozaru screamed, grabbing her by her collar. Zoro's eyes were flashing red, and he was furious that he couldn't do anything. He tried dragging his body closer to the scene, but he could only get but so far.

"Do you know what that pendant was for?" Sozaru yelled, only inches away from Nami's face. "I know you've seen the engraving on the wall on your way in here. The pyramid with the star, which would be the pendant, the moon, which would be the fulfillment during the nighttime, and woman is the representation of the prophecy!"

"Prophecy?" Nami asked.

"Silence!" He bellowed, and then sighed. He lowered her down, but not letting go of her. "Obviously you must be the woman from the prophecy, seeing as _your_ holding the pendant during the nighttime awakened me."

"What?"

"And the child in the woman from the engraving's arms as you saw… would be you. Everything fits. Meaning you must stay with us. We"-

"Wait what!? Child? What are you talking about? I'm a pirate, not a mother!"

"You awakened me. You fulfilled the prophecy. The only one able to do that is you- when you have a child. I don't see any around, so you must be-"

"Pregnant?"

Zoro, still conscious and desperate to protect Nami at all costs, could hear the entire conversation since he had (unknown to Sozaru)dragged himself behind the captor. His jaw dropped. His mind raced. A nervous feeling crept through his stomach. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Nami, on the other hand, refused. "You're kidding! Its not possible you baka! To get pregnant you have…to…" She stopped.

Sozaru, desperate to get the woman back to his world without harming her and the child within her, reached out his other arm and pushed onto her stomach.

"HEY!"

"Quiet!" He swiveled his hand in a circular motion, and dragged it through the air like a brick, onto the reflection of the pond. There a picture appeared. Both Zoro and Nami were stunned. The image was almost like an ultrasound, and Nami could see what was growing inside her. The tears poured out. Zoro only dropped his head to the ground, falling into unconsciousness.

"_That_ is the prophecy. The child you carry is to become ruler of our world, and you are carrying him within you. Therefore you must come with us. We will serve you well, and your child will be safe and happy-"

"Wait!" Nami yelled in desperate attempt for hope. "Maybe… I could give you something else instead?" She felt a sudden surge of hopelessness and protectiveness over the being growing inside her. And she couldn't jus up and leave. Her nakama were dying before her eyes and she had no reason to leave them.

"We've waited 500 years for this moment! I cannot simply let you go and let my people die!"

"They won't die! How about-" She thought quickly, desperately. "Come back when the baby is born! Then…"

"Silence before I change my mind. I will be back in exactly 8 months." He began to fade away, and he shot out his arm toward the fallen Strawhats, making the poisonous purple marks fade away too. But only on most of them.

Nami fell to her knees, Sozaru's grasp on her fading away as well. She looked over at her crew. Chopper and Franky's marks were only half faded. _Most likely because they had been poisoned longer,_ Nami thought. She was now hysterical. Sozaru was gone and her nakama were hurt. But worst and most shocking of all, she was pregnant.

Well that was the longest chapter I've ever written. Hopefully it was all you readers wanted and more. If not well... –frowns-

I'm sorry about the super-long wait. The huge project I mentioned before is finally done and due tomorrow! However I just started a volunteer program. Thankfully that isn't _nearly_ as time-consuming as that stupid project.

Anyways, don't think I'm done with this story yet! I've got lots more to write! I'm not making any promises about the release of Chapter 8 though, because lately you never know. But thanks for being loyal and kind readers and reviewers! I'll do my best!


	8. Chapter 8

Nami thought back. She _had_ been the crew's doctor for quite a while. Before Chopper came along, she was the answer to the crew's medical problems. But unlike Chopper, who was currently unconscious, she had no medical school teaching nor had she memorized tons of book's worth of information. She was good, but she worried she wasn't good enough. Oh how she wished the Ivankov Luffy had mentioned before was here. A tear fell from her face.

She looked down at Zoro's cataleptic face. Ha! She remembered one medical word! She frowned. Joking around to herself wasn't going to help.

"Aha!"

She scrambled to her feet, running over to where the tents were pitched. She thoughtlessly ripped off at least a yard of fabric. She ran over to Chopper, ripped off a piece of _that_, and quickly wrapped it around Sozaru's mark on his arm.

"Uhhh, God help me!" She said to herself. "Oh wait!" Nami grabbed her Clima Tact and 3 bowls from inside the ruined tent.

"COOL BALL!" She yelled, squeezing her eyes shut in hope that her idea would work. She lightened the pressure on the pole, aiming toward the bowls. They quickly filled with water, and Nami squealed with delight. She threw the Clima Tact to the ground and grabbed the tent scraps. She flung herself next to her doctor and ripped the scraps into three pieces. One of the rags she dipped in the bowl and covered Chopper's forehead. By then her face was drenched in tears as she hoped her nakama would survive this shocking situation.

Nami stood up, satisfied enough with her attempt at repressing the poison. But if the poison spread as quickly as she thought it would, it might already be too late. It was all her fault. But she tried not to get into it and finish before the minuscule chance she had at saving her nakama was lost. She turned around to grab another rag when she heard a crashing sound. Either there was another earthquake and Sozaru was returning, or someone else had kicked a rock down the passageway to the cavern. If it was, that person was heading straight toward this room!

"Oh my God! This is not the time!" She yelled inside her mind. She ran toward the entrance to the cavern, hoping that she was just hearing things when a man entered.

She nearly bumped into him. He looked down at her. She looked up at him. They both screamed.

"Wha? What are _you_ screaming for?" Nami yelled.

"Whadda ya mean why? Because you scared me!"

Nami softened her face, but in an annoyed kind of way. Here she was, fighting to save all 7 of her crew's lives, and this goon comes in like he's on a hike! What the hell was going on? "Who are you? What are you doing here? I'm in an emergency situation!"

"That's why I'm here. I saw you guys come in the cave earlier but you never came out. And people don't normally stay in here more than a few hours. Then again, we don't get many people on this island-"

"And?"

"And I was worried something might've happened to some innocent visitors. I was going to come look for you before but I'm…kind of shy."

_Innocent visitors?_ "Well as you can see, we're not doing too well." She wiped her eyes and pointed toward her fallen crew. "Look I don't have time for conversations, my friends are poisoned and I'd rather not have them die here!"

"Poisoned? What happened here?" He asked, walking toward where Nami was pointing.

"Long story. I don't know what to do, and they've been unconscious for 10 minutes now! Didn't you hear anything on your way here?"

"Well I suppose I heard something."

"Say, what's your name?"

"Jerry." He answered, kneeling down to look at Nami's injured captain. "They're going to need some water. Do you happen to have any?"

"I'm Nami," She answered the unasked question. "and the water is right here." She pulled up the three water-filled bowls.

"Thanks. Hey, are any of your friends doctors? They should carry some kind of antidote on a trip like this."

"Yeah." She had given that idea some thought, but with her limited medical knowledge she didn't want to give them the wrong medication and kill them all herself. She fumbled through what was left of the tent and pulled out all of Chopper's medicines.

Jerry studied them all, scanning the row of colored bottles laid before him. "This should be the one." He said, pulling up a small yellow colored container and handing it to Nami. "Give two drops of this to each one. Quickly. I'll take care of the rest here."

"How do know all this?"

"Our tiny village has a population of 30 people. I just happen to be their apothecary." He beamed, still facing his patient. Nami grinned in relief.

----

Within 5 minutes, they were done. There was nothing more they could do.

"Those two tents will do." Jerry began taking one apart. He tied one end together and laid a blanket over the exposed part.

"Do? Do for what?"

"We need to get them out of here. I can get some people from my village to get them up there for treatment but before that they need some fresh air. Besides, we couldn't get the stretchers in here. We'll have to tow them outside. Using your tents as stretchers, we can manage to get them out."

"Umm… good thinking." Nami was flabbergasted. And so, so, so, lucky that he happened to get there before the situation worsened.

Jerry took Franky, Sanji, Chopper, and Luffy and Nami took Robin, Zoro, and Usopp. Boy were they heavy! Nami was not made to carry people. She sighed. But she was willing to carry anything to get her crew to safety.

After about 30 minutes, they reached a dim light. The end of the cave was in sight. The two dragged their "carry-ons" outside, stopping underneath a leafy tree. Finally! Somehow Nami knew they would make it.

"Alright, stay here. I'll be back with help and real stretchers as soon as I can. Give them another drink of water for me and don't move!"

"Okay." She said, rolling her eyes jokingly. "Thank you! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!"

"It's no problem. This is what I do. I'll be back!" Jerry ran off.

Nami sat down Indian style under the tree next to Zoro. She smiled weakly and reached out to touch his mossy green hair. She really did love him. She just hoped they would have a chance.

She moved her fingers to his chin, leaning down. They're faces were inches apart. She stared into his face, studying it intently. Weirdly, he looked like he was simply sleeping. His face was slightly pale but he was breathing deeply, like how he did while napping on the ship. She opened her mouth somewhat. She finally registered what she was looking at. Zoro was staring right back at her, and just as intently.

"Zoro!"

"Nami." He asked weakly.

Nami burst into tears. "Zoro! You're alive!" She sobbed into his shirt, which seemd to soak up her tears like a sponge. He sat up, holding her tightly to his chest, looking around. He was out of the cave, and his arm was tied up and felt numb. Apparently someone had cut off the circulation. He started to untie it.

"Where are we? What happened? I think I had a crazy dream last night."

"But it wasn't a dream. Everyone was poisoned and thankfully an island villager showed up and saved you with an antidote. He's gone to get stretchers to take you back for treatment."

Zoro looked down at what he was untying. Poisoned? But that wasn't the word he had been thinking of. "Nami… did that Sozaru guy say you were pregnant?"

Nami turned away, releasing herself from Zoro's grip. "That's… what he said. He even showed me. I can feel it. He wasn't lying." _Sigh._ "I don't know what to say."

Zoro fell back against the tree. This was all too much for one night. He felt so helpless against everything. Protecting his nakama, the relationship between him and Nami, staying conscious against poison. He couldn't do a thing about any of them. This wasn't the demon bounty-hunter with a thousand wills he had started out with when he joined the Strawhats. He looked up at the starry sky. He picked out one especially dazzling one, wondering if Kuina was watching this pathetic sight.

"Why are you frowning?" Nami asked, subsequently frowning herself. "You should be happy you're still alive! You could've died back there! You could've all died back there!" She could feel the stinging feeling she always got right before she started to cry. She bit her lip, trying to hold them back. He had no clue how lucky he was to be alive. And how lucky _she_ felt for it.

"I just-" He stopped.

"What is it? You know by now you can tell me anything."

"It's just… I feel so helpless against everything that's happened. Am I not strong enough to handle things like this? Am I that weak? I thought I'd trained myself but hey I guess not."

"That's not true. You know you're one of the strongest guys I've ever known. You must be fooling yourself if you think otherwise. If you were weak, you wouldn't have been prepared to sacrifice yourself over something important to someone important to you."

"And I failed at that."

"Everybody has a limit. Don't worry about that, Zoro. You're strong. I know it and you know it too. That's why I know you can handle this." She reached out and took Zoro's hand, placing it on her stomach. He blushed.

"Well, but what happens after it's born? Won't that Sozaru guy come back?" Apparently he had heard some of what happened after he passed out. Somehow…

"Yes, but I guess we'll deal with that when it happens. We'll have to play by ear."

Zoro took back his hand and clasped the two together behind his head, closing his eyes. Nami shook her head. He could always find time to sleep. She looked at his face. Although he seemed fine, he was obviously still troubled. She scooted over, leaning her head on his shoulder. She forced herself not to fall asleep too, for fear something might happen to her nakama while she was obliviously out of sorts. The night sky really did look beautiful that night. She sat next to her lover- she giggled at the word- as she pondered over what was to become of them.

----

I do not own One Piece. I do not own One Piece. I do not own One Piece. Does that make up for the numerous times in this story that I didn't mention that? My bad.

Anyway the time skip for this chapter was a lot longer than I expected. I went to a (first) volleyball camp (the second is yet to come), went on a vacation with my family, and then promptly forgot all about fanfiction due to my short term-like memory until my "open tabs" default page turned into thumbnails of the sites I visit the most. Man I'm so sorry. I hadn't even started chapter 8 when I rediscovered fanfiction. A thousand apologies my dear readers. And a hundred more for _forgetting fanfiction!_ and uh… rambling on like this. But as you can see chapter 8 is finally finished, and to those who've signed up for story alert, you can expect the alert for chapter 9 soon. Thanks!!!

*In reference to the first paragraph of this chapter, by medical school teaching I'm talking about is his two doctor mentors that taught him everything he knows. And to those reading the manga, note the Okama Queen reference. Hehe Ivankov you crack me up…


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